I would take anywhere from 100-300 shots..no kidding, before I capture what I thought was a perfect photo... WELLLLLL today I take 2 and settle for the best of both...( both are usually pretty good)
Now what changed? I learned about TOOLS. Ok, clearly I am no professional photographer but I have something that makes me look like one... And I would like to share that with you...
INGREDIENTS to LOOKING like a PRO!
1. I have 1 piece of barnwood cut into 3 pieces and braced with a piece of wood on the back to keep
it together. (* call your local farmers...that is how I got my first piece)
2. I have 5 in 1 REFLECTOR ( here is a variety that are reasonably priced on EBAY)
Reflectors 4 in 1 or 5 in 1
3. I have 2 digital cameras...one- a sony cyber shot...( pretty good too) and Canon Rebel
4. YOU NEED LIGHT, even a back door, ( some natural light) --- avoid using flash at all times...
For this shot I leaned my backdrop of wood on my back door..
south east exposure, it was a dark day, grey in fact...lots of clouds...
but there was enough light for these shots...all taken
within 15 minutes...
See how the black reflector makes the wood look darker....
I was 2 feet away from my birds project, I pinned it with 2 pins.
lit the candle...no flash and took this photo...
I leaned my disk ( reflector) against a chair and braced it with my shoe..or rather slipper lol
When I downloaded my pics, I just added a black frame around it...
and yes I have this thing for mist and birds..those were photoshopped in...
But you can see it was not necessary...the photo is well lit...
For this shot, I chose the silver side.... REFLECTOR ( it is one disk with one cover that has silver and black one side, silver and white on the other) it just zips all around the frame which is also white... ( mine is 50 inches in diameter)
Again my backdrop of wood is just leaning against my back door and I turned my reflector around to reveal the silver side...
Now this one, I chose the white reflector...you can see how the light bounces off it
and makes the spider block brighter?
For my shy Witch, I chose this gold reflector....again very small differences compared
to the black but makes an impact just the same
...
Experiment....you will find you will prefer white or black
for most shots....
Had the sun been shining I would have chosen the white to create
some shadows..but for this collection I wanted it to be
wicked lol
You want your reflector positioned towards any light source...natural light will give the nicest shots...Down the road, I will show you how to use these outside .....Always remember to take your photos early in the morning with the sun on your back or at sunset .....YOU can bounce sunlight off these reflectors to create some really
nice shots... For now...try this....
You don't need a lot of space...I used less 3 feet square to capture these shots...
nice shots... For now...try this....
You don't need a lot of space...I used less 3 feet square to capture these shots...
Terri, sent me this about
Common Reflector types and uses:
Common Reflector types and uses:
Gold has a sunset effect and warms the scene, gives healthy-looking skin tones.
Soft Gold mixes silver and gold in a zig-zag pattern. Warm, summery feel. Great with skin tones.
White brightens the reflected light - neutral color effect.
Silver increases highlights and yields a high-contrast image - creates neutral tones but brighter than white. Silver and white reflectors can achieve nearly the same colour hue as daylight. can achieve nearly the same colour hue as daylight.
Black works in reverse to absorb light rather than reflect it. Negative fill is used to absorb any ambient light or spill .i.e. to reduce harsh sun rays outdoors.
Black (or white) reflectors can also be used as quick impromptu backdrops on location for head and shoulders shots or for product photography close up shots.
I hope this will help you...If you need anything, just ask...
my best
If you have not heard from Katherine
from Sew Me Something Good.
Please go HERE
to see her message for Monday....
from Sew Me Something Good.
Please go HERE
to see her message for Monday....
here is another coin purse I created..
this one was placed on top of post on our deck....white reflector...










































